Bremont launch their new Concorde inspired Supersonic watch at the Design Museum in Kensington in partnership with British Airways. It was a lovely affair with lively band who cavorted amongst the many guests from the watch world, media and celebrities, sipping champagne and cocktails. Ben Shepherd presented with his usual flair and humour alongside Nick and Giles English, the founders of Bremont, who gave a charming speech outlining their passion for aviation and Concorde in particular.

Chief Pilot of the Concorde Fleet, Mike Bannister, also shared his memories of Concorde from its conception and design to his fondest recollections of flying such an iconic and legendary craft. Ahead of her time in more ways than one, Concorde flew faster than a rifle bullet and halved the time of transatlantic crossings. Over 2.5 million British Airways passengers experienced flying eleven miles high at twice the speed of sound. This evocative civilian airliner completed more supersonic flying hours than the entire world’s air forces combined.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of an aircraft both brilliant and beautiful, Bremont has launched its eighth historical limited edition timepiece, the Bremont Supersonic, incorporating parts of one of the most famous and iconic planes in history – Concorde.

Only 20 Concordes were built, seven of which entered service with British Airways. Concorde was the flagship of their fleet. The Bremont Supersonic will incorporate a ring of aluminium from Alpha Bravo, Heathrow’s last remaining Concorde. The silhouette of this remarkable aircraft is subtly machined into the movement’s customised base plate and G-BOAB’s attributes feature in gold around the aluminium decoration ring. Parts of the proceeds of these unique limited edition timepieces will be donated to the Air League Trust, an organisation that works to introduce under privileged children to learn how to fly. The brilliant cause is part of a wider network of charities supported by British Airways, known as Flying Start.

Registered as G-BOAB, Alpha Bravo first flew in 1976, the third Concorde delivered to British Airways. In 1984 she set an airliner distance record, covering 4,565 miles from Washington to Nice. After 24 years service, Alpha Bravo returned to Heathrow in 2000 on what became her final flight. Concorde still holds the world record for transatlantic flight, taking 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds from New York to London in 1996. She enabled civilians to break the sound barrier in comfort and style. Her pilots witnessed the sun rising in the west. Despite these achievements, she was withdrawn from service in 2003 marking the end of an era in British aviation.

Limited to 300 pieces, the Supersonic Stainless Steel has been hand assembled by skilled watchmakers at Bremont’s workshop in Henley-on-Thames. The Supersonic contains Bremont’s first ever manual wind movement which features an 8 day power reserve and has a power reserve indicator at the 12 o’clock position.

The style of the timepiece is reminiscent of a 70’s look and feel with its sunburst white dial representing Concorde’s specially developed highly reflective paint. The blue hands of the Supersonic reflect British Airways blue on Concorde’s famous livery. The Bremont Supersonic incorporates a ring of aluminium from Alpha Bravo, Heathrow’s last remaining Concorde. The silhouette of this remarkable aircraft is subtly machined into the movement’s customised base plate and G-BOAB’s attributes feature in gold around the aluminium decoration ring. The packaging is impressive too, shaped like the iconic nosecone of the Concorde itself. This timepiece comes on a Concorde Blue Connolly leather strap with pin buckle to complement case material.

The movement is a modified calibre BE-11M 8 day manual wind movement. Glucydur balance and Anachron balance spring with Nivaflex mainspring. Rated frequency 21,600 bph. Sub seconds hand at 6 o’clock. Date window at 6 o’clock. 33 jewels, 32.4mm diameter, 4.8mm height. Decoration ring visible from the case back, constructed from aluminium used in G-BOAB. The price is a modest £9,495. There is also a Rose Gold version limited to 100 pieces for £16,995.

A piece of history for those that were lucky enough to fly on Concorde or who simply want to remember such a wonderful time in aviation history, when countries worked together to create engineering marvels.